As people lead increasingly active lives, they may require an increased intake of liquids, which users may prefer to consume on the go and/or at a particular temperature. Containers such as sports bottles or insulated flasks may provide the user the convenience of readily available liquids maintained at a particular temperature. In addition, users may want to consume liquid from the container without removing the lid from the container, requiring a lid or cap that provides access to the liquids.
Caps with nozzles that can be extended to provide access to liquid within a container are commonly used with compressible bottles, such as plastic bike or sports bottles. However, insulated bottles and flasks are sometimes rigid-walled and incompressible, which can make the use of a conventional cap with a nozzle problematic, because it is not possible to change the volume of air within the bottle. Therefore, with a typical nozzle design that does not allow air to flow into the bottle as fluid flows out, a partial vacuum is created within the rigid-walled bottle as liquid is removed through the nozzle, making it progressively more difficult to drink from the bottle until the user stops drinking and allows air to flow back into the bottle through the nozzle. Accordingly, many lids or caps used in combination with insulated flasks and bottles are configured to be removed prior to consuming to provide access to the liquid. There is a need for bottle cap designs that incorporate nozzles suitable for use with rigid-walled bottles and flasks.
The following are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes: U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D633,338, D654,793, and D632,524.